Creative Commons Reality Check for AOL
November 26, 2013
Oops. It appears that the legal department over at AOL has some studying up to do. Techdirt reports, “AOL Unclear on the Concept: Threatens Startup for Properly Using Creative Commons Content.” It seems the startup in question, Pro Populi, is using content from AOL-owned CrunchBase in its People+ app. That data is covered by a Creative Commons CC-BY attribution license, which means commercial use is fair game as long as the content is properly attributed. That did not stop AOL from sending Pro Populi a cease-and-desist notice.
Apparently, the company is trying to get around the very specific provisions of the CC-BY license by pointing to a clause in their API terms, which says it reserves the right to force users to stop using content at any time. However, as writer Mike Masnick succinctly points out:
“That clause is completely bogus. AOL can decide to forbid someone from using the API if they feel it violates their terms, but they cannot ‘terminate’ the license to use the content. The content is free to use under the license, and there’s nothing AOL can legally do about it — other than lie and be a bully, which appears to be the choice the company has made.”
So, how does one cope with big companies chasing windmills? Why, call in a defender like the Electronic Frontier Foundation, of course. The article continues:
“Thankfully, EFF is now representing Pro Populi and has sent a detailed letter explaining all of this to AOL. Hopefully, next time, their lawyers will actually understand their own licenses before misrepresenting them in bogus threat letters.”
Perhaps, though the profit motive is often much stronger than common sense. Will AOL learn its lesson, or will the bullying continue?
Cynthia Murrell, November 26, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
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